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Canada tops reputation poll for second year

Canada has been chosen as the country with the best reputation in the world for the second year, according to a major online poll from the Reputation Institute. It also knocked the UK off the top spot in the education category.
October 16 2012
2 Min Read

Canada has been chosen as the country with the best reputation in the world for the second year, according to a major online poll from the Reputation Institute. It also knocked the UK off the top spot in the education category.

The Country RepTrak ranks the world’s 50 most reputable countries every year based on a broad range of factors such as quality of life, business environment and a country’s physical beauty. Some 36,000 people representing the G8 countries were polled this year.

Canada scored “robustly” in all categories including other important education categories. It ranked top in terms of safety – a matter of increasing importance to overseas students – and third in terms of valuing education behind Japan and Sweden.

Nicolas Georges Trad, executive partner at the Reputation Institute told The PIE News: “[Canada] consistently performs well in what matters to [students]. An example would be its leadership position in the attributes that tend to influence students looking to study abroad.

“It values education highly, it is a safe place to live, and it is technologically advanced”

“It values education highly, it is a safe place to live, and it is technologically advanced. Not to mention that it also happens to be home to three top ranked universities.”

The country also scored highly on physical beauty, social support and its welcoming atmosphere. Being Anglophone may also have played a part – half of the top six nations in the survey in both 2011 and 2012 were English speaking.

“It’s clear to me that having the English language as a primary source of global communications enables people everywhere to understand and appreciate your country better,” chairman of Saffron Brand Consultants, Wally Olins, said. “It gives you a massive advantage in the race for top reputation. It helps with investment, tourism, cultural appreciation—everything,” he said.

In the survey Canada is followed by Australia, Switzerland, Sweden and the other Nordic countries, which are all known for their stability, solid democracies, high GDP and strong social infrastructures according to the institute.

Economic powers like China and the USA are placed fairly low, number 43 and 23 respectively.

According to the Reputation Institute, a good reputation helps a country’s bottom line. Trad said Canada’s result showed it was on track in its goals to grow as a study destination.

“We live in a reputation economy… As long as Canada continues to effectively manage its reputation and remain identified with these attributes, it will be a very attractive choice for international students.”

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